Set in Ink
by Five-0Fanatic
Summary: Are these tattoos the best thing that ever happened to them, or will these swirls of ink drive them apart?
1. Chapter 1

** Authors Note ** This story was inspired by my best friend. Here instead of getting your tattoos in a shop, the tattoos just appear on your body at random times in your life and you have to figure out why they're there and what they mean. Hope you Enjoy

Danny Williams knew what you were supposed to do when a tattoo appeared. You were supposed to figure out what it meant. He knew people with lots of tattoos but he only had the one on the underside of his bicep that was Grace's name and date of birth. That had appeared a week before Rachel found out she was pregnant. That had been probably the happiest moment of his life and that had been his only tattoo. Until the night he looked in the mirror in the grungy hotel room he was being forced to stay in because of Rachel and he spotted a new patch of ink decorating his shoulder blade, "What the hell?"

Danny looked closer, if it was a warning about the divorce, it was a little late for that. He looked closer and he saw a Bald Eagle holding a trident in one talon and a gun in the other, and his wings were encompassing a giant anchor, "Great, what the hell does that mean? What am I supposed to go meet Poseidon, king of the fucking sea or something?!" Danny grumbled as he pulled on his shirt and flopped into bed.

The next morning his phone rang and he scrambled to grab it and as he did, he noticed another new tattoo adorning his forearm, from the crease of his elbow, all the way to his wrist. He answered the phone while studying the new tattoo, "Hello?"

"Daniel" Rachel's snooty accent filtered through the phone, "The divorce is finalized but I have something to tell you"

Danny snorted, "More great news?" He realized the new tattoo was a chain of islands, Hawaii in fact.

"Danny... Stan and I are moving to Hawaii" Rachel replied and Danny fumbled the phone, dropping it and cursing.

"What?! You can't just move to Hawaii, you can't just take my daughter" Danny yelled then froze in his tracks. He looked at his forearm and then realized it was meant to be a warning. A warning for this, for Rachel trying to take his baby girl away but there also had to be a reason, "I can't fucking believe this! We get a divorce and 5 minutes later your dragging my baby to a fucking rock!"

"Danny, we can talk later but we're leaving next week. I'm sorry" Rachel said and hung up.

Danny threw his phone and cursed, scratching at the new tattoo, "Fuck you" he mumbled to the reddened skin. He eventually made all the arrangements to move and transfer though, and a week later, he was standing in Honolulu international already regretting his decision. Then Grace hugged him, and it got a tiny bit better, not much but a tiny bit. But he still had this tattoo on his shoulder to figure out and that was next on his to do list.

-

Steve was proud of his tattoos. They all represented something and he respected that. The first one that ever appeared had been the one on his right bicep. He wasn't quite sure what it was but it looked like an old Buddha shrine shrouded in mist. That had taken forever to figure out. He'd done a lot of research and basically found the 3 concepts which were  
Karma, Rebirth or reincarnation and, oddly enough, the practice of yoga. He'd found that Karma was basically what goes around comes around, and while that hasn't exactly presented itself in his life yet, he was still hopeful. He considered his rebirth as joining the SEALS. The only stable thing that had ever been in his life. After his mom died and he was sent away, he'd been lost until he'd graduated and started SEAL training, that's when his life had gained purpose again. And yes he did practice yoga. Anyone who said it want manly, could just take a look at his medical records, he was fit and healthy.

The second tattoo was on his other bicep. It was a Lotus flower and remarkably enough, it had something to do with the Buddha as well. The lotus flower itself represented peace. Steve was ok with this because right around the time this tattoo appeared is when his father died. Yeah he was more than upset but once he started figuring things out, he wasn't exactly at peace with the way his mom and dad died but he was at peace knowing they had died doing something good.

His last tattoo was the one on his lower back. Sure it was a tramp stamp as they called and the guys on his team likes to tease him about but to him this was the most important one of all. It covered his lower back from hip to hip and it was colorful and detailed. When he finally got a good look at it, he realized it was a tribal tattoo. Even though he wasn't a native Hawaiian, the culture and way of life had been very important to him and he wanted nothing more than to be a part of it. This tattoo represented the hawaiian history and legend of the islands. So despite what the guys said, he was proud to wear it.

Then as he was packing his things to head back for his fathers funeral, he was pulling his shirt on when Mark walked in and whistled, "Nice new ink smoothdog"

"What?" Steve asked whipping around as if he could see the tattoo on his back, "Where? I can't see it damn it"

Mark chuckled and pushed him in front of a mirror, "Right here on your shoulder blade"

Sure enough, there was a brand new tattoo etched into his skin. It was shaped like a badge and it was silver-grey. The words around the edges said Saint Michael Protect Us and in the middle was an angel standing over someone with a spear and law scale, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Saint Michael is the patron saint of police officers" Mark supplied, "My brothers a cop and his wife got him one"

"A police officer?" Steve asked, then pondered for a minute, "Maybe it means something about my dad"

Mark shrugged, "Maybe but that's your's to figure out bro"

Steve pulled his shirt on. He didn't have time for it right now, he would figure it out later. He grabbed his bag and turned to Mark, "It's been a good run. See you soon sailor"

"Likewise sir" They saluted each other and Steve left, making his way to the airfield.

-

"Hands up! Right now! Who are you?" The blonde yelled as he pointed his gun at Steve.

Steve pulled his own gun, "Who are you? Let me see some I.D."

"Please after you" The blonde snapped not lowering his gun.

Steve cursed silently, not seeing an end to this standoff and he really didn't have time for this right now. His time was running low after the Governor had stopped him to offer him a task force and he still needed to find Victor Hesse, "At the same time?"

The blonde agreed and pulled his badge out, while Steve pulled his I.D. "Detective Danny Williams"

"Lt. Commander Steve McGarrett. You're the one working my fathers case?" Steve asked, holstering his gun as Danny did the same.

"Yeah I am and Im sorry but you can't be here. It's an active crime scene" Danny gestured towards the door and Steve just smiled.

"You got it" Steve grabbed the toolbox he 'd been rifling through and pushed past Danny.

"Leave the box" Danny ordered.

"I came with this" Steve said and Danny just looked at him like Really?

Danny snorted, "No, I see the dust void. Leave the box or get arrested"

Steve chuckled. This guy was relentless, " You gonna call for back up?"

"An ambulance" Danny stated and Steve smiled again as he set the box down.

Steve dialed the governor as Danny watched, "Governor Jameson please. Tell her it's Steve McGarrett... Governor, I'll take the job. I'll transfer to the reserves and run your task force... right now?" Steve sighed and held up his hand and took the oath over the phone, "Thank you Governor" He grabbed the tool box and shot Danny a smug smile, "Now it's my crime scene"

Danny grumbled as he opened the door and he fought the urge to slam it shut when he saw who was standing on the other side, "What do you want?"

"I wanna know what you know about my fathers case" Steve said, pushing his way inside. Then wishing he didn't, the place was a piece of crap. His eyes landed on a picture of young girl, smiling, "Is this your daughter?"

"Stunning detective work" Danny snarked.

"You don't let her stay here do you?" Steve asked, looking around warily.

"What are you here for again?" Danny growled.

Steve opened a folder he had in his hands, "You wanted a wire on a guy named Fred Duran. Why?"

"He's a suspected arms dealers and the casing we found at your dads house matched a casing in one of his previous cases" Danny explained, and Steve just nodded.

"Right, well let's go" Steve said, walking to the door and opening it.

"Wait, go where?" Danny asked, getting up from his chair now.

"Chief told me you transferred here from Jersey and if the tattoo of the islands on your forearm and the picture of your daughter are any indication, then you moved here to be close to her, and you do your job well. That's what I want." Steve stated as if they suddenly would make Danny his partner.

Danny shook his head, "No. Listen, I appreciate it but my psych eval isn't for another 6 weeks and honestly guys like you only make my job harder"

"You got no choice Detective. I have jurisdiction and I'm making you my partner. We're gonna get along great" Steve flashed a smile as he walked out the door and Danny flipped him off behind his back.

What happened next, was the highlight of Danny's day. Besides getting shot, he saved a woman's life, saved the moron partners life, and punched said moron, all after being shot in the arm, not ten minutes after meeting the idiot.

The car ride back to their new office was deathly silent until Steve spoke up, "Look man, I'm sorry"

"Can we just not talk?" Danny asked, not accepting the apology.

"Now or like ever?" Steve asked, just to grate on his nerves.

Danny sighed, "Just... Both" But Steve just wouldn't leave it alone. He kept bugging Danny about until he snapped and then later after Danny finished ranting and Steve apologized yet again did Danny realize what he just said.

Steve was a Navy SEAL. When Danny had begun researching this new tattoo on his shoulder, he'd found out that it was the insignia of the SEALS. He looked over at Steve who was facing the opposite way and looking out the window. Danny looked back to the road and all he could manage was a whispered, "Fuck"

Top of Form 1

Bottom of Form 1


	2. Chapter 2

Steve was a god damn SEAL. Fuck. Danny felt like going home and banging his head against the wall a couple times. The tattoo had to have something to do with Steve. Danny didn't know any other SEALS, and he sure as hell wasn't joining the Navy. That's just what he needed right now. First it was Rachel dragging him here, now it was this stupid, neanderthal, Navy SEAL. But the tattoo had to mean more than just Steve, it had to have a deeper meaning because it couldn't just be for him to meet Steve because otherwise he would just up and quit because he really didn't need the stress that would undoubtedly come from being Steve's partner.

Danny decided he would ride it out long enough to figure out what this tattoo meant because a tattoo didn't just appear for no reason. They all had a meaning and they couldn't be ignored. Good, he had a plan and he would stick to it, that was the only way to escape with his sanity.

-

"I'm sorry that you were put in danger today" Steve said as he stepped forward and noticed the bruising on Kono's face, "We're a family and we act like a family. We'll always be there for each other" He handed her the box containing the Cal Tech 9 mil. handgun that he'd gotten her.

The thing however that made his heart skip a beat was the medallion that Danny gave her. He watched as Danny handed over the silver medallion and he heard Danny say, "I've always carried it with me and it's always protected me. Until I met him that is" Danny nodded towards Steve and he scoffed.

Later when everyone had left and he and Danny were the only ones left in the office, Steve walked across the hall and into Danny's office, "Hey Danny?"

"Yes Steven?" Danny asked as he put away his police uniform and changed back to his normal clothes.

Steve thought he saw a hint of ink on Danny's shoulder as he shrugged on his shirt, "Where did you get that medallion that you gave to Kono?"

"Umm... My captain gave it to me the day I joined the force" Danny replied, then looked at Steve curiously, "Why?"

"Just wondering. I've seen it before and couldn't remember where" Steve said and turned to walk out but stopped, "Actually Danny... No. That's not why"

Danny could see the look on Steve's face like he was hiding something, "Ok? So whats the actual reason?"

"I can't really say it a way that you would understand" Steve stumbled over his words, then finally sighed, "I'll just show you" Steve pulled his shirt off and turned around, "See?"

"I see a big ass tramp stamp" Danny chuckled.

"The medallion on my shoulder blade" Steve growled in response.

Danny's eyes wondered up the wonderfully muscled and tanned back, and whoa. Where did that come from? Danny's eyes finally landed on the ink on Steve's shoulder blade and he sucked in a breath. It was the medallion with the words and everything, "What... Why... When did this appear?"

Steve turned around and Danny could see he was blushing a bit, "It had to be about a week before I came back to Hawaii. Why?"

"Because... about a week before I moved to Hawaii, a new tattoo appeared in the exact same spot as yours" Danny replied, "I didn't know what it meant till I researched it. It's the... uh Navy SEAL insignia"

"Let me see" Steve demanded, pulling his shirt back on.

Danny glared at him "A please would be nice, No Manners McGarrett"

"Please let me see it" Steve sighed when Danny smiled and unbuttoned his shirt.

Danny pulled it off and turned around, displaying an inked patch on his shoulder blade, "There it is"

Steve ghosted his fingers over the colored skin, "Danny this isn't just the SEAL insignia... this is the insignia for my SEAL team. SEAL team 7"

"What?!" Danny whipped around, "How do you know?"

Steve snorted, "Besides the fact that I was leader of the team? Look here"

"How can I look at my back?!" Danny snapped, shaking his head.

"Hang on" Steve pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of the tattoo, showing it to Danny, "Look here," Steve pointed to a small engraving on the Anchor. It was a small 7.

"Fuck" Danny said under his breath but it must have been louder because Steve said "Yeah" in reply.

"Well now what?" Danny asked, pulling his shirt back on, "What does it mean?"

"How am I supposed to know?!" Steve asked.

"You're the Naval Intelligence guy!" Danny shouted, waving his hands around.

"Yeah Naval Intelligence, not a freakin tattoo decipherer person!" Steve shouted back.

"Tattoo decipherer person? Really?" Danny rolled his eyes, "I can't think right now. I need a beer" Danny grabbed his uniform and pushed past Steve.

"Where are you going?" Steve asked as he watched Danny walk out.

"To get a beer!" Danny shouted over his shoulder.

Steve watched until the door shut behind Danny. Tattoos in the same exact place at the same time and both of their tattoos had something to do with each other? This was going deeper than Steve originally thought. He thought the medallion tattoo had been about his dad but he hadn't found anything like that in the house or in the toolbox, but then Danny had the exact medallion and he had Steve's SEAL team logo on his shoulder. Steve involuntarily shivered and ran his fingers over the tattoo on his shoulder. Whatever fate had in mind for him, it obviously included Danny. Their fates had been entwined and Steve would figure out why.


	3. Chapter 3

"Yeah Catherine, he has the SEAL insignia with my number on it!" Steve said into the phone, taking a sip of his beer. Steve had been talking to her about this for the past hour and he was still no closer to figuring out what it all meant.

"So he has your tattoo and you have his tattoo? Well it seems pretty simple to me" Catherine replied and Steve could hear the smile in her voice.

Steve sighed, "Cath, you know it's not. I've known the man for 3 weeks, I can't just walk up to him and say 'Hey, I think we're soulmates because we have tattoos that mean something about each other' Yeah that would go over real well"

"I'm not saying tell him that" Catherine countered, "I'm saying that maybe you should look into a little more instead of acting like there's nothing between you two"

Steve grumbled some more and Catherine sighed and Steve could tell she was rolling her eyes, "Come on Steve, he's all you talk about. When we go out for beers, you constantly talk about him and I'm not upset with you, I knew you were just a fling but I will be upset if you don't do something about this. These tattoos appeared for a reason and you should know more than anyone that they are important."

"Alright, alright! I get it, don't ignore it." Steve admitted defeat because he would never win this argument with Catherine, "But what am I supposed to do?"

"God you are so dense sometimes. Talk to him, see what he thinks. See if there is something between you. Don't make me call Kono, you know she won't hesitate to insert herself into the situation" Catherine warned, "Just do it ok, Steve? I gotta go. I'll see you in a couple weeks"

"Bye... And Cath? Thanks" Steve smiled and hung up. Finishing his beer, he gave Danny a call, "Hey you got plans tonight?... Wanna chill out and watch a game, drink a few beers?" Danny agreed and said he would be by in a few minutes.

"What am I even going to say?" Steve asked the air around him.  
He jumped when someone knocked on the door, he didn't realize he'd been sitting there that long. He got up when the knocking continued and opened the door, "Danny"

"Steven" Danny mocked him, pushing past into the living room, "What game are we watching?"

Steve shrugged, "Whatever's on. I was gonna order pizza"

"Pepperoni, sauce, cheese-" Danny stopped and stared at Steve when he realized Steve was saying the same thing.

"On your half, pineapple, and ham on mine" Steve finished and just stared back. They'd just finished each others sentence.

Danny snorted, "We've been hanging out too much"

"Yeah" Steve half chuckled and grabbed the phone to order pizza. He wandered to the kitchen and ordered, looking back at Danny who was happily surfing the channels looking for a game.

God, Danny really needed to relax more. He looked about 10 years younger when he was relaxed and not worrying about Steve. Steve hated to think that in a way he was some cause of that. The curtain that normally hung over back door was open and the orange glow from the sun was washing over Danny's blonde hair and lightly tanned skin, and Steve was mesmerized. Danny had on tshirt and the black hawaiian islands tattoo ink on his forearm was almost sparkling. Danny cringed at the hockey game he'd settled on when a player was slammed into a wall and Steve smiled as Danny's eyes crinkled with laughter.

"Steve! You get lost in the kitchen or what? Bring the beers!" Danny yelled, snapping Steve out of his daydreaming.

Steve pulled himself together, grabbed the beer from the fridge and went back out to the living room, "Sorry. Ordering the pizza took a little while"

"Yeah I noticed" Danny scoffed, then the doorbell rang.

"Leolanis Pizza!"

Steve groaned and Danny arched an eyebrow, "You should get that" Steve nodded and got up to answer the door.

"Thanks" He growled and basically slammed the door. Could this have gone any worse? Steve was supposed to have invited Danny over, drink a few beers with him, then casually slip their tattoos into the conversation and see what happened. Steve threw the pizza box on the table and flopped down on the couch again, sighing.

They sat in silence for awhile before Danny spoke, "God, you are terrible at this!"

Steve stared at Danny, shocked, "Terrible at what?"

"Talking to people, telling them how you feel. God, you have the social skills of a freakin brick!" Danny shrieked throwing his hands around and Steve caught another glimpse of ink on the underside of Danny's bicep.

"What are we supposed to talk about? I mean I was watching the game, I thought you were too" Steve shrugged, taking a sip of his beer and biting his tongue to tell Danny what he really wanted to say.

Danny scoffed, "Really? What's the score?" Steve didn't answer so Danny asked again, "What teams are playing?" He saw Steve's brow furrow with uncertainty, "So I know you didn't just want to watch a game and drink beers. You've been acting weird since I got here so you might as well tell me"

Steve swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry and he downed the rest of his beer, "I want us to talk about these damn tattoos"

"Ok, that's my cue to leave" Danny got up and headed for the door.

"No, Danny, wait!" Steve jumped up blocking his exit, "Danny, we have to talk about this. We have to figure out why we have them"

Danny glared at him, "No we don't. You knock yourself out but I don't have to do shit"

"God dammit Danny, why?!" Steve yelled, "Why are you do against figuring out what they mean and what we have to do with each others life?"

"Because I already know what it means!" Danny yelled back, his voice cracking, "I know what the tattoos mean, I've figured it out. I knew from the moment I met you!"

Steve stared at Danny, dumbstruck, "How... How did you figure it out?"

"It doesn't matter. None of it does" Danny pushed past Steve and out the front door. He yelled over his shoulder as he walked to the car, "Just leave it alone."


	4. Chapter 4

Steve ran out the front door after Danny, "Danny! Wait!" He caught and grabbed Danny's arm spinning him around.

Danny stopped and spun around, glaring at him, "What? Why can't you leave this alone?"

"Because I can't! You know what they mean, you know what they appeared for" Steve shouted.

Danny didn't back down "Yeah, I do. And I wish I never did. And trust me, you don't want to know."

"Says who? You? This isn't just your decision! I have your tattoo on my body too. It's not just your life that these have something to do with, it's my life too!" Steve yelled, "Tell me what they mean. We can do this together. Figure it out along the way"

"No. Figure it out yourself, I'm not doing this thing where you pretend to give a shit about whats going on. It's not happening. I have myself and a daughter to think about" Danny yanked his arm and stalked off to his car and drive away, leaving Steve to stare after him.

Steve walked back in the house and sank down on the couch. What just happened? Danny had freaked out over nothing. All he wanted to do was see what this thing between them was. Their tattoos made them have some kind of bond and no matter how much Danny hated it, they meant something to each other and Steve was going to find out what. This wasn't just something he could forget, especially if he had to see the reminder of it on his shoulder everyday.

The next morning he walked into HQ, later than usual and noticed Danny wasn't in his office, "You guys seen Danny?" he asked Chin and Kono who were standing over the computer table.

"Yeah he texted us this morning saying he wasn't coming in today. Didn't he call you?" Kono replied.

"No. He didn't" Steve growled and slammed his office door. Really? So Danny was ignoring him now, what was he 12 years old? Steve grabbed his phone and texted Danny.

"Last I checked, I was the head of the task force, not Chin or Kono, so next time you call out, tell me first" Steve hit send. 2 could play at this game.

Danny grabbed his phone as it vibrated and saw a message from Steve. He read the message and scoffed, "Jackass" he muttered to himself.

Danny had hated doing that to Steve last night. He hated seeing that pained look in Steve's eyes, but he couldn't do that to himself. Not again. Not after last time. The tattoo felt like it was constantly burning, a constant reminder of what Danny couldn't have.

By lunchtime, Danny still hasn't texted back and Steve was more than irritated. Danny wasn't talking to him at all, not even calling him an asshole or anything. Steve's shoulder itched and he was sure the tattoo was just reminding him it was there. About 30 minutes into lunch, Steve threw down his food, "I'm sorry guys but I can't. I can't sit here and pretend like nothing's wrong."

Chin and Kono just stared at him as he stripped off his shirt, "Boss you ok?"

"No. I'm not. Danny refuses to talk to me and I can feel this damn tattoo just like I'm sure Danny can but he won't acknowledge it and its driving me crazy that he won't talk about it. You guys deserve to know what's going on" Steve turned around an showed them the tattoo adorning his shoulder blade, "It has something to do with Danny. I just don't know what. He has one that's related to me on his shoulder blade too but he won't tell me what they mean even though he already knows"

Chin and Kono exchanged amused looks and Steve glared at them, "What? What aren't you guys telling me?"

"Steve... I assumed you knew since you had so many tattoos already" Chin replied and put down his food, wiping his hands on a napkin, he pulled up his sleeve, revealing a tattoo that Steve didn't even know Chin had. It was positioned just on his bicep and it was 2 golden weddings bands, linked together, "The left one appeared when we were engaged the first time then we broke up and when we finally got married, the second appeared."

Steve stared at the tattoo, shaking his head "So... What are you saying Chin?"

"Well if you look, Malia has one just like it on her wrist... I'm saying that 2 people only have the related tattoos if they mean something to each other. Like really mean something" Chin explained, pulling his sleeve down.

"I'm still not quite grasping the point..." Steve trailed off, putting his own shirt back on.

Kono scoffed, "It means there's something between you two. Call it a bond, call it fate... call it love. But it's there and you can't deny it"

Steve's eyes widened then he shook his head "No... See um, we 're just friends. Best friends yes but anything more than that... No..."

"Steve you wanted to know and we told you and you really can't deny it..." Kono fixed him with a glare, it was soft and concerned but still a glare.

"So what your saying is we're basically..." Steve knew the word he was looking for but he couldn't say it.

Kono rolled her eyes, "Soul mates"

There were a lot of things Steve could deal with that came from being a Navy SEAL. This was not one of those things. His body switched to auto pilot and he grabbed his keys, heading out to his truck and driving to Danny's place before he realized where he was and what he was doing.

What was he doing? He didn't know what he would even say to Danny right now, hell, he didn't even to know what to say to calm himself down. Then he remembered that Danny knew. That Danny knew what the tattoos meant. Steve ripped the keys from the ignition and stormed up the stairs to Danny's door. Danny was crazier than he claimed Steve was if he thought that he could just make this decision for both of them. They were going to talk about this.

Steve knocked on the door and it opened and before Danny could say anything, Steve glared at him, "Why didn't you tell me that we were fucking soul mates?!" Steve took grim satisfaction in the look of disbelief and shock on Danny's face.


	5. Chapter 5

Danny contemplated slamming the door in Steve's face but that wouldn't accomplish anything and he wasn't about to back down from Steve, "I had my reasons"

Steve looked taken aback for a minute like he wasn't expecting Danny to answer, "You had... You." Steve laughed and held up his finger, "Give me a second... You had your reasons?! Reasons that were good enough to keep the fact that we were meant to be away from me?"

"Yeah and I stand by them. Yell, shout, give me your Navy SEAL death stare all you want" Danny turned and walked away, leaving the door open.

Steve just stood there. He had kind of expected something else, he wasn't sure what but after he found out what it meant he wasn't expecting more resistance. He wasn't sure if he should follow Danny inside or leave or what. He didn't know and he felt like an idiot standing in front of Danny's apartment but not going in.

"You gonna stand there all day?" Danny's voice came from inside and Steve hesitantly stepped in and shut the door, "So is that why you came here? To rub it in my face that you found out?"

"Is that what you think?" Steve asked, following Danny to the kitchen as he grabbed a cup of coffee.

Danny shook his head, "No. I think you came here to ask why I kept it from you"

"Well your right" Steve refused the cup of coffee Danny offered him, "So why did you?"

Danny took a deep breath and hesitated before answering, "Like I said I had my reasons. They were good reasons, I used them before, everytime someone got close..." Danny sighed heavily and rubbed he back of his neck, "I just.. I don't handle relationships well and-"

"Damn it, Danny! Cut the shit! Tell me the real reason!" Steve growled, slamming his hands on the counter, "I know you're telling me the truth but you're not telling me everything!"

Danny put the mug down, glaring at Steve, "Oh that's rich coming from you!" Danny puffed out his chest and mimicked Steve's voice, "I'm a Navy SEAL. It's classified and I can neither confirm nor deny. Look at me like that and I'll kill you with a paper clip!"

"Oh, cute" Steve clapped sarcastically, "That's real cute. Don't even try to pull that with me, it's two totally different things and you know it!"

Danny scoffed, "Please... tell me how it's different"

"Is that seriously a question?! You know that if I say anything about what I did, I could be court martialed. I could lose everything!" Steve yelled, "Why are you making this so hard? Danny, I'm trying, I really am. I'm trying to understand why you don't want to acknowledge this but I can't do it alone. So I'm leaving, if I walk out that door, I'll leave you alone and we never have to talk about this again."

Steve turned on his heel and took the few short steps across the living room to the front door. He wrapped his hand around the doorknob and pulled it open before he heard something.

It was a barely there whisper, "Don't go"

Steve closed his eyes and breathed out a sigh of relief. Danny wanted this. Danny wanted to try this. He stepped back and shut the door and turned to Danny. He crossed the room and took Danny 's face in his hands, "Trust me..."

Danny's own hands came up to cover Steve's, "I'm trying..."

Steve leaned forward and rested his forehead against Danny's, taking a deep breath, he gently but hesitantly pushed lips against Danny's. It took Danny a minute to return the kiss but he did. His hands slid along Steve's arms, up around his neck, pulling him in closer. He pulled Steve in and kept him there, working their lips together, he pulled against Steve too hard and they stumbled backwards, falling on the couch, Steve's long legs bracketing Danny's thighs as he straddled him. They never broke contact though and Steve continued to explore Danny's mouth until Danny pushed him away, gasping for breath.

Steve ducked his head away, averting his gaze, "I'm sorry. That was too fast, I shouldn't have..." Steve didn't get further before Danny had curled his fists in Steve's shirt and pushed him flat on his back and attacked his mouth once more. Steve choked down a groan as Danny rolled his hips but broke the kiss again.

"Don't be sorry" Danny said, pushing his hands under Steve's shirt, "It's ok. But before we do anything I want to do something"

"What? Do anything you want" Steve said, goosebumps raising along his chest where Danny's hands trailed.

"I want to trust you" Danny replied, sitting up on Steve's lap, "but first. I want to take your shirt off" Steve chuckled and lifted his arms as Danny pushed the shirt up and pulled it over his head and then just stared.

"Your turn" Steve grinned wickedly and pulled at Danny's tshirt.

Danny willingly pulled it off and laid down on Steve's chest, feeling the warmth seep into him. He laid his head on Steve's shoulder and sighed as Steve's fingers trailed across his back and began tracing the tattoo on his shoulder, "Rachel" Danny felt Steve tense up and he kissed his neck, feeling him relax, "I haven't been able to be with anyone since Rachel. When I met her, I didn't have a tattoo. Not one. I figured after a couple months, one might show up, saying that I was doing the right thing but it never did"

Steve's hand splayed out across Danny's shoulder blade, covering the tattoo with his palm, "I'm sorry. So what happened?"

"Everyone told me that it wasn't a good idea. That I shouldn't marry her because neither of us had a tattoo. They said they could see she was too snobby, that sooner or later she wouldn't want to be a cops wife. That she was made to be taken care of, that she wanted money and pampering, that she wanted to be a rich mans wife. I guess they were right but I didn't want to believe it." Danny sighed, and Steve's other arm came up around him, "I was so in love with her. So ready to give her everything, be everything she wanted. I was ready for a life with her and even when I knew she was cheating, I loved her. With everything I had, I loved her."

"It's just who you are" Steve whispered, tightening his bold, "A big heart, full of love"

Danny scoffed, "Stubborn is more like it. Maybe if I had listened to everyone, I wouldn't be like this."

"If you hadn't met her, you wouldn't have Grace. If you hadn't met her your life might have been different. We would have never met" Steve replied, nuzzling his face into the blonde hair.

"It's just... It cut so deep. You know, I had given everything for her. I didn't care if I had a tattoo or not, I didn't need one to prove that I loved her. When she cheated and took Grace away, I was so angry. Angry at everything. Her, Stan, these stupid tattoos, but mostly myself. I hated myself for not listening to my friends and family because they'd been right." Danny smiled as he pulled his arm free and showed Steve the Hawaiian island tattoo, "Then this happened"

Steve grinned as he ghosted his fingertips over the black ink, "Looks good on you. I'm sorry"

"What are you sorry for?" Danny asked, nuzzling under Steve's jaw.

"That all that happened to you" Steve replied, "You know I would never hurt you like that right?"

"Yeah. I know babe. I just didn't want to go through all that again. I didn't want to get hurt, to go through that again. When this SEAL tattoo appeared, I didn't know what to do. But you have nothing to be sorry for, if anything, I should be apologizing for the way I acted and treated you"  
Danny replied, before reaching up to kiss him, "I shouldn't have done any of it. Not everyone is like Rachel, scheming and vindictive. I should have trusted you, I should have heard you out"

"It's ok, Danny. It's ok. I know what you were feeling. When my mom died, I didn't want anything to do with anyone. I kept to myself and learned not to get close to people because it would probably hurt just as bad when they left too, but when the tattoo appeared I honestly didn't know what to do either. I thought that maybe I could ignore it forever, then I met you and I felt something. I felt something different. I wanted something, anything with you. Then I found out about your tattoo and I knew that something was there I just didn't know what... I'm glad I do now though..." Steve squirmed as Danny's hand traced over his ribcage, "You're very distracting you know that? I'm trying to be heartfelt and you're tickling me"

Danny laughed, "Well it's not my fault you're half naked underneath me looking even better than I ever could have fantasized about"

"Fantasize about me a lot Danno?" Steve asked, his hands sliding down Danny's back to grip his hips.

"You have no idea" Danny replied, placing both hands against Steve's chest he pushed himself up, so he was sitting up on Steve's lap. He saw the curve of the tattoo from Steve's lower back curling around his hips, "Fantasies about touching them. Tracing them with my fingers, my tongue."

"Well don't let me stop you" Steve replied, stretching his arms above his head, showing off his chest. And Danny didn't, he was true to his word. He traced every line, every swirl, every pattern of ink and it took hours. And Steve had never been happier.

"Danny... Danny, wait" Steve groaned as Danny kissed a path up his body.

Danny shook his head, stopping to kiss each side of Steve's hips, "No. Not done yet"

Steve reached over and pulled the drawer in the nightstand open and pulled out the small velvet box, when Danny reached his chest, Steve placed a hand under his chin and pulled his gaze up.

Danny froze when he saw the open, velvet box, "Steve... What is that?"

Steve pulled the ring from the box and held it up "Will you marry me?"

"Ummm, actually there's been something I've been wanting to tell you. I've had it for awhile and I was gonna tell you tonight" Danny said, he rolled over and pulled his shirt off.

Steve glared at him"So I haven't been able to see you shirtless for weeks because of whatever you're about to show me?"

"You're ruining the moment" Danny said, his voice muffled as he pulled his tshirt over his head. He lifted up his arm to show Steve that tattoo that had appeared along his side about 2 weeks earlier.

Steve stared at the inked skin. It looked amazing against Danny's golden skin. He traced his fingertips over the letters slowly. McGarrett-Williams was etched into the skin on Danny's side, in beautiful scrawling script, "Babe..."

"Yeah so the answers yes" Danny said, flinching as Steve traced the tattoo, "That tickles"

"Would the answer have been different of this hand appeared?" Steve asked before pressing his lips to the newly inked skin.

Danny grinned and pulled him up for a kiss, "No, it would have always been yes." Steve slipped the band on his finger, setting it in place and admiring it, before rolling over and hovering over him, leaning down to kiss him, "Steve!"

"What?! What happened?" Steve leaned back, "What did I do?"

"Nothing. Look though," Danny tapped on Steve's chest just above his heart, right where a new tattoo was currently forming, "It's another tattoo"

Steve tried to get up to look in the mirror but Danny held him in place, "Wait, I want to see it" Danny watched as the script uncurled across Steve's skin, "Wanna know what it says?"

"Of course I want to know!" Steve said, craning his neck, trying to see, "Tell me Danno!"

"It says McGarrett-Williams" Danny ran his fingers over the new tattoo,"Just like mine"

Steve grinned before leaning down to kiss him again, "It's perfect"

"Just like you" Danny said, flipping them over so he was straddling Steve.

Steve smiled, pulling him down for a kiss, "You mean just like us"


End file.
